Todd Trial Set For Dec. 20

Attorneys in the case of an 18-year-old Sheridan man facing a charge of sexual abuse of a minor met for pretrial conferencing Tuesday morning in 4th Judicial District Court.

Trial date was the issue of concern Tuesday morning in the case of Dylan Todd, accused of sexual abuse of a 13-year-old girl. Todd, a 2011 graduate of Sheridan High School and now student at the University of Wyoming, has pleaded not guilty to the charge, resulting from an incident on December 12, 2010 when Todd was 17. If convicted, the charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or up to a $10,000 fine.

Judge John Fenn had set a three-day trial to begin December 20, but Todd's defense attorney Stu Healy filed a motion for a continuance Tuesday, to prevent the trial from approaching Christmas in the event that trial went longer than the scheduled three days.

Prosecuting attorney for the State of Wyoming Dianna Bennett said she thought two days would be sufficient to complete the trial. Healy said that because of the number of witnesses the trial would take longer - he thought possibly even five days. He voiced his concern that if proceedings lasted until Friday (the day before Christmas Eve) the jury could be distracted if they were thinking about the holiday instead of the case.

Fenn denied the motion for a continuance, saying that because of a full court docket, if moved, the earliest date the case might be tried would be some time in summer 2012. He added that additional jurors will be brought in to make sure that there are enough to make up for any that might have holiday plans.

Jury selection for the scheduled three-day trial will begin Tuesday, December 20.

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